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Rael's eyes scanned the dense foliage, searching for any telltale signs of edible vegetation. His senses were attuned to the slightest movement or change in the environment, a skill honed by years of survival in the wilderness.
He glanced back at Elian, who was diligently following his instructions, carefully examining the plants Rael had pointed out. Despite the human's initial clumsiness, Rael had to admit he was a quick study, adapting to the alien surroundings with a resilience that demanded respect.
"Like this?" Elian asked, holding up a leafy plant with vibrant purple veins.
Rael nodded, a ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. "Exactly. Those leaves are rich in essential nutrients."
Elian beamed at the praise, his curls bouncing as he tucked the plant into his makeshift satchel. The sunlight danced across Elian's features, accentuating the sprinkling of freckles that adorned his nose and cheeks.
Shaking himself from his reverie, Rael turned his attention back to the task at hand. He couldn't afford to be distracted by the human's charms, no matter how alluring they might appear.
Two extra weeks of travel. Rael had already been heading home after a long journey when he'd first found Elian. Now that they had another two weeks ahead of them, his supplies were dwindling. It would slow them, but they'd have to forage as they went.
As they continued their foraging, Rael couldn't help but steal glances at Elian, taking in the way his slender form moved with grace. The human was so different to Borraq. Even the weakest Borraq was bigger and heavier than Elian. Elian's quickness and nimbleness never failed to catch Rael's eye.
Elian must have sensed Rael's gaze, for he looked up, their eyes locking.
Clearing his throat, Rael tore his gaze away, focusing instead on the task at hand. "That should be enough for now. We should keep moving."
As he taught Elian how to forage for food in the wilderness, the human's wide eyes fixed on him in rapt attention, something had stirred in Rael. Something warm, something sweet.
He'd never met anyone like Elian. The human was a paradox, as confounding as he was charming. Rael had expected a cowering, broken creature, someone who would beg for mercy as soon as Rael got the drop on him.
And yet, despite the very real danger Elian was in, the human had a spirit to him. He cracked wry jokes at the worst times. He challenged Rael. He looked at Vasz with a sense of wonder that was completely out of place for a captive, as if every single part of the planet was worth paying attention to.
And he'd made Rael laugh. No one had done that in years.
Rael was going to miss him.
But he had to turn him in.
There was no other choice. The bounty on Elian's head was what Rael needed to save his own clansman.
And humans were the enemies of the Borraq. There was no future for Elian, not on Vasz. There was nowhere that he could go that Borraq wouldn't find him.
Rael couldn't let himself think about that future for Elian. He couldn't let himself think about the moment when other Borraq would take the human away, about the moment when Rael would be free and clear with his bounty money in hand, about the moment when those endlessly hopeful blue eyes would meet his own for the last time…
Rael's instincts prickled, shaking him free of his thoughts. Something was wrong.
In one smooth motion, he threw himself forward and tackled Elian to the ground.
A spear whistled through the air above them, narrowly missing both Rael and Elian. It embedded itself in the ground, quivering with the force of the throw.
Rael's eyes snapped to the weapon. It was a Borraq spear.
And it had been aimed at Elian.
Rael snapped around to face the source of the attack. He bared his teeth and roared, a sound that was half challenge and half fury. He was answered by an annoyed snarl from the other side of the clearing, and a tall Borraq stepped out from the underbrush.
And Rael knew him. "Korvax!" he growled.
"Rael." The other Borraq — a tall, scarred beast of a man, lean and blade-sharp — smirked. "No harm meant to you, alpha. I was just casting a hook for an interesting little fish."
Korvax was a lone wolf, a clanless warrior. Rael knew him well. He was always lingering around outposts, implied in all kinds of under-the-table schemes. He was who people traded with when they needed warfront materials of unclear origin, or who they called when they had someone to hunt down and teach a lesson.
And somewhere along the line, Korvax had discovered that Rael had a human in tow.
The bounties on humans were dead or alive.